Application-based commercial ground transportation clearinghouse system

ABSTRACT

A management system for a Permitting Authorities (PA) or their appointed designee to monitor and track application-based commercial ground transportation (ABCT) Providers activities within electronically-enabled geo-fenced areas associated with the PAs, all without the need for specialized hardware such as transponders or other tracking equipment. ABCT Providers transmit location and/or transaction information for ABCT Vehicles within geo-fenced areas associated with the PAs to a clearinghouse. The clearinghouse transmits the location and/or transaction information to a clearinghouse. The clearinghouse transmits the received information to the corresponding PAs in near real-time and periodically creates invoices for each PA based on the activities taken place within the respective goes-fenced areas.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation-in-part of, and claimspriority to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/387,366, filed on Apr.17, 2019, hereby incorporated by reference, which is a continuation of,and claims priority to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/587,257,filed on Dec. 31, 2014, hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

A new mode of online-enabled application-based commercial groundtransportation (ABCT) has necessitated a new process for airports orother geographically-defined authorities, or “Permitting Authorities”(PA), to manage such transportation activity.

Commercial transportation plays an important role in carrying passengersto and from airports. Commercial transportation includes taxicabs,limousines, busses, and shuttle vans. Commercial transportation alsoincludes ABCT—online enabled application-based platforms used to connectpassengers with drivers using their commercial or personalnon-commercial vehicles. ABCT providers include what is known in theState of California as Transportation Network Companies (TNCs).Commercial transportation to and from airports is a lucrative business,with drivers typically earning their highest fares overall on trips toand from airports.

State and local governments regulate the various modes of commercialtransportation on public roads, whereas airports regulate their ownroadways and commercial activity on their property. Airports mustmaintain a safe and efficient use of their roadways for the travelingpublic. Airports must also, as required by federal law, be selfsustaining. Airports, therefore, typically issue Permits, leases, orother transactional instruments to commercial ground transportationproviders and charge periodic fees, per-trip fees, or other charges tocover the costs to maintain and regulate their roadways.

Traditionally, airports and other PAs have monitored, charged, andmanaged commercial transportation providers and vehicles through manualsystems or permanently-affixed transponder devices to track themovements of vehicles on airport roadways. ABCT has presented a newchallenge for airports and other PAs because to place a transponder orother permanent tracking device in a vehicle that is not always used forcommercial transportation would be impracticable. It may also beregarded as restrictive by drivers whose private trips to an airport maybe tracked by the transponder readers.

What is needed in the art is a way to regulate ABCT provider activitieswithin a PA such as an airport. Specifically, PAs need a managementsystem to monitor and track ABCT-Vehicles through a mobile communicationdevice without the need for specialized hardware such as transpondersand/or other tracking equipment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is related to a management system for a PermittingAuthority or its appointed designee to monitor and track ABCT provideractivity through the ABCT-Driver's mobile device, the ABCT provider'sapplication (“app”), the ABCT provider's computer systems, and the PA'selectronically-enabled geographic coordinates (“geo-fence”), all withoutthe need for specialized hardware such as transponders or other trackingequipment. Each mobile communication device associated with anABCT-Vehicle continually transmits information to an ABCT providerInformation and Communications Technology (“ICT”) System when anapplication on the mobile communication device is active. Theinformation transmitted by the mobile communication device enables theABCT provider ICT System to identify the ABCT-Driver's identity, thevehicle information, the geographic locus, and/or the ABCT-Vehicle'sactivity data.

Based on the data received from the mobile communication device, theABCT provider ICT System determines if the mobile communication deviceis within a predefined geo-fenced perimeter. If the mobile communicationdevice is within the geo-fenced perimeter, the ABCT provider ICT Systemgenerates a message comprising at least one unique code and transmitsthe message to a PA ICT System associated with a PA. The unique codeincludes at least one driver ID and at least one ABCT customer triptransaction code. The PA ICT System generates a report containing theunique code and a vehicle ID and transmits the report to a complianceofficer. The PA ICT System may also, in some embodiments, transmit themessage to a PA financial server, wherein the PA financial servergenerates an invoice for each ABCT provider activity taking place withinthe geo-fence.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a system for managing an ABCT-Vehicle based onlocation and activity data, according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a system for managing an ABCT provider permittedactivity on a PA property.

FIGS. 3A-3F illustrate graphic user interface (GUI) of a compliancereport, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates a management dashboard display, according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates a reconciliation report, according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates a system logical architecture design for theprincipal message handling components of the PA ICT System.

FIG. 7 illustrates a method for managing an ABCT-Vehicle based onlocation and activity data, according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 8 illustrates a method for billing an ABCT provider for servicesrendered at a PA, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 9A-9C illustrates a system for managing the activity of multipleABCT providers at multiple PAs, according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 10 illustrates a method for billing multiple ABCT providers forservices rendered at multiple PAs, according to one embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention discloses systems and methods for a PA to managethe activities of an ABCT provider.

Overview

An ABCT provider is a company that uses an online-enabled platform toconnect passengers with ABCT-Drivers who are using their commercial orpersonal, non-commercial, vehicles to transport passengers. TheABCT-Drivers communicate with ABCT providers and passengers via mobilecommunication devices, such as a smart phone.

Each mobile communication device associates an ABCT-Driver with anABCT-Vehicle and an ABCT provider though the use of an app within theABCT-Driver's communication device. The ABCT-Driver's app communicateswith the ABCT provider's ICT System. When active, the application withinthe ABCT-Driver's mobile communications device transmits the geographiclocation of the ABCT-Vehicle at regular intervals to the ABCT provider.The ABCT provider uses this information to show ABCT customers thelocation of nearby ABCT-Vehicles.

The ABCT provider uses the most recent geographic coordinates of themobile communication device to determine whether the mobilecommunication device is inside a PA's geo-fence. The geo-fence maycomprise one or more polygons whose vertices are geographic coordinatesbased on a standard coordinates system for the Earth such as WGS84. TheABCT provider ICT System transmits to the PA ICT System associated withthe geo-fence an information message at regular intervals throughout thetime that the ABCT-Vehicle is within the PA's geo-fence. The use ofmultiple geo-fence polygons provides the PA the ability to monitor andmanage the movement of ABCT-Vehicles within the PA's property.

The PA ICT System receives the information messages from ABCT ICTSystem, which specifies ABCT provider activities on the PA's property.The PA ICT System stores the ABCT provider information messages. Thereare at least 5 different types of information message. The message typeis identified within the body of each message:

-   -   1. PR—a Presence information message signifies the vehicle is        within a geo-fence.    -   2. EN—an Entry information message is transmitted once on        geo-fence entry.    -   3. EX—an Exit information message is transmitted once on        geo-fence exit.    -   4. DO—a Drop Off information message is transmitted once when an        ABCT-Driver closes a transaction i.e. collects a fare, within        the PA's geo-fence.    -   5. PU—a Pick Up information message is transmitted once when an        ABCT-Driver initiates a transaction i.e. starts a trip, with an        ABCT customer within the geo-fence.

Based on a predetermined set of business rules, a PA ICT System maygenerate a financial invoice for any of the activities listed above andperformed by an ABCT provider within a geo-fenced perimeter.

In one embodiment, the active mobile communication device app transmitsto an ABCT provider ICT System a unique code with the coordinates of theABCT-Vehicle, which identifies to the ABCT provider ICT System, both thespecific identity of the ABCT-Driver and the specific ABCT providercustomer transaction.

The ABCT provider ICT System generates a message comprising the uniquecode, which ties both trip and driver, the ABCT ID, the message type,the vehicle identity, the date and time and the geographic coordinatesto the PA ICT System. The PA Permit may specify the format of themessage contents that ABCT providers are required to provide to the PA.The unique code allows the PA to both validate the ABCT-Driver'sidentity with the ABCT provider and authenticate the ABCT-Driver's tripat a curbside inspection.

The PA ICT System relays the vehicle identity and the ABCT provider'sunique code to the PA's compliance officers who manage curbsideenforcement of PA's ground transportation rules and regulations. Thecompliance officer can compare and verify the ABCT provider's uniquecode, provided by the ABCT provider's ICT System, with the codepresented on the ABCT-Driver's communications device.

The PA ICT System also relays those information messages which triggertransaction charges to the PA's financial engine. The PA's financialengine collates individual ABCT provider transaction information,reconciles the information with a predetermined set of business rulesfor invoicing and issues invoices to the ABCT provider.

In another embodiment, a third party such as a national or regionalclearinghouse may be used to manage transaction fee collection from ABCTproviders because deploying app-based ground transportation managementsystems, as described above, in every PA can be costly and inefficientto PAs and ABCT providers. A PA provides geo-fence information to athird party which forwards those data to participating ABCT ICT Systems.The ABCT ICT Systems provide information messages to the third party ICTSystems relating to activities within the geo-fenced perimeter of aplurality of PAs. The third party aggregates all transaction datarelating to specific ABCT providers and issues invoices to respectiveABCT providers. The ABCT providers, in turn, provide transaction feepayments for the invoices to the third party.

Definitions

“Mobile communication device”, as used herein and throughout thisdisclosure, refers to any electronic device capable of wirelesslysending and receiving data. A mobile communication device may have aprocessor, a memory, a transceiver, an input, and an output. Examples ofsuch devices include cellular telephones, personal digital assistants(PDAs), portable computers, etc. The memory stores applications,software, or logic. Examples of processors are computer processors(processing units), microprocessors, digital signal processors,controllers and microcontrollers, etc. Examples of device memories thatmay comprise logic include RAM (random access memory), flash memories,ROMS (read-only memories), EPROMS (erasable programmable read-onlymemories), and EEPROMS (electrically erasable programmable read-onlymemories). Mobile communications devices may be built into vehicles forthe purpose of transmitting vehicle geo-locational and other data.

“Communication channel”, as used herein and throughout this disclosure,refers to a wireless network, a wireline network, or any networkincluding a combination of wireless and wireline network elements. Acommunication channel can include broadband wide-area networks,local-area networks, and personal area networks. Communication across acommunication channel is preferably packet-based; however, radio andfrequency/amplitude modulations networks can enable communicationbetween communication devices using appropriate analog-digital-analogconverters and other elements. Examples of radio networks includecellular (GPRS, UMTS, TDMA, CDMA, etc.), Wi-Fi, BLUETOOTH® networks,etc., with communication being enabled by hardware elements called“transceivers.” Some mobile communication devices may have more than onetransceiver, capable of communicating over different networks. Forexample, a cellular telephone can include a GPRS transceiver forcommunicating with a cellular base station, a Wi-Fi transceiver forcommunicating with a Wi-Fi network, and a positioning satellite receiverfor receiving a signal from a positioning satellite. A communicationchannel typically includes a plurality of elements that host logic forperforming tasks on the telecommunication network. In modernpacket-based wide-area networks, servers may be placed at severallogical points on the telecommunication network. Servers may further bein communication with databases and can enable communication devices toaccess the contents of a database. A server can span several networkelements, including other servers in the telecommunication network.

“Geo-fence”, as used herein and throughout this disclosure, refers to avirtual perimeter on a geographic area, as defined with standardgeographic coordinates based on an standard coordinates system such asWGS84, defined by a Permitting Authority, a service provider, or adriver. A geo-fence is based on (Global Positioning Satellite) GPScoordinates defined on a specific coordinates system. A geo-fence can beany shape known in the art, such as for example, a polygon defined byfour points. In a telecommunication network, a mobile communicationdevice is location-aware in that it usually is capable of estimating itsgeo-location by communicating with local cell-sites and other networkinfrastructure. The mobile device can make its geo-location dataavailable to applications running within the device. These applicationscan send/transmit these data to applications/systems elsewhere. Themobile communication device may respond with a notification, anapplication, or interaction with connected hardware such as a smartvehicle. For instance, geo-fences may be used to notify parents ofchildren leaving designated areas, shut down a vehicle before entering arestricted area, etc.

An “activity” as used herein and throughout this disclosure, includesbeing within a geo-fence, entering a geo-fenced perimeter, exiting ageo-fenced perimeter, performing a pick-up service within a geo-fencedperimeter or performing a drop-off service within a geo-fencedperimeter.

FIG. 1 shows a system for monitoring the activity of a driver associatedwith an ABCT provider, according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention. The system includes a mobile communication device 120associated with an ABCT-Driver communicating with an ABCT ICT System 100across a communication channel 110. In one embodiment, each mobilecommunication device comprises an app, wherein the app associates anABCT-Driver to an ABCT-Vehicle and an ABCT provider. The applicationcommunicates with the ABCT ICT System via a communication channel 110.

The ABCT ICT System 100 comprises at least a geo-fence database 104, adriver account database 106 and an activity log database 108.

The geo-fence database 104 stores a plurality of geo-fences. Eachgeo-fence defines a perimeter, entry to which is monitored andcontrolled by a PA, and inside of which an ABCT provider pays a fee forconducting business. In one embodiment, a plurality of geo-fences candefine a perimeter which is monitored and controlled by a PA.

The driver account database 106 stores a plurality of driver accountinformation, which may include a unique ID associated with the driver,driver's name, driver's social security number, and driver's licensenumber. Each driver account is linked to at least one mobilecommunication device and at least one vehicle. In one embodiment, thedriver account database 106 can be invoked to determine which driver isconducting business within the geo-fence perimeter.

The activity log database 108 stores a log of the location of theABCT-Vehicle. In one embodiment, each activity performed by a driver mayalso be stored in the activity log database. Such activities mayinclude: presence within a geo-fence, entry into the geo-fencedperimeter, exit out of the geo-fenced perimeter, a pick-up activity anda drop-off activity.

Each element in FIG. 1 can communicate with other elements directly orindirectly, and can communicate with other elements wired or wirelessly.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the ABCT ICT System 100receives a plurality of location information from each mobilecommunication device 120. The location information is sent from eachmobile communication device on a periodic basis. For example, a mobilecommunication device may send location information to the ABCT providerICT System every 5 seconds. In one embodiment, activity information isalso sent along with the location information. The location information,information associated with the mobile communication device, and/or theactivity information is stored in the activity log database 108.

The location information is determined at a GPS chip on mobilecommunication device 120, by methods known in the art, such asperforming a signal strength triangulation from antennas nearby mobilecommunication device 120. Logical elements on network such as a LoCationServices (LCS) client, a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) server,Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) server, are not shown, but can be usedto determine a precise location of device 120, by methods known in theart. PAs may provide local Wi-Fi services to enhance the accuracy of thegeo-location data.

As each location information is received by the ABCT ICT System 100, themonitoring logic means 102 determines if the location of the mobilecommunication device is within a predefined geo-fenced area. To thatend, the monitoring logic means 102 references the stored geo-fencecoordinates stored in the geo-fence database 104 and compares them tothe location information received by each mobile communication device.

A messaging module 112 of the ABCT ICT System 100 generates a message,in real-time, once the monitoring logic module 102 determines that thelocation of a mobile communication device is within a geo-fence.According to an embodiment, the message comprises a header including adriver ID, trip ID, ABCT ID, vehicle license plate ID, activity timestamp, activity data, number of users using the ABCT service associatedwith the activity data, and geographic locus associated with the mobilecommunication device within the geo-fence. To generate the message, themessaging module 112 may access the geo-fence database 104, the driveraccount database 106 and/or the activity log database in 108 in order togenerate the message. In an embodiment, the message format is providedin a format that adheres to the format defined in a PA Permit.

In one embodiment, the messaging module uses the HTTPS protocol to POSTdata associated with a permitted activity. The activity data may beposted to a URL with the following URL encoding employed:

https://216.9.96.29:8443/ABCT/services/audit?uid=“<value>”&ABCT_id=“<value>”&licenceplate=“<value>”&timestamp=“<value>”&txn_type=“<value>”&ride_count=“<value>”&lon=“<value>”&lat=“<value>”.

The ABCT monitoring server 100 transmits the message, in real-time, to aPA ICT System 114 for monitoring activities of the drivers associatedwith the mobile communication device and for billing via a communicationconnection 111. The PA ICT System 114, in turn, generates an invoice forall the fees associated with the activities provided by the ABCTprovider within the geo-fenced perimeter, and provides it to the ABCTprovider for payment.

In another embodiment, the ABCT ICT System 100 transmits the message, inreal-time, to a third party such as a national or regionalclearinghouse, for invoicing. The third party, in turn, generates aninvoice for all the ABCT provider permitted activities occurring withinthe geo-fence perimeter by the ABCT-Driver.

FIG. 2 shows a system for monitoring ABCT activity within the perimetersof a geo-fence area, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. The system includes PA ICT System 200 communicating with adata storage means 204 for storing messages received from ABCT providers202 via a communication connection known in the art. In one embodiment,data is extracted from the received messages and stored in a relationaldatabase. In another embodiment, the messages are stored in the datastorage as data logs.

The PA ICT System 200 includes a data storage means 204 operativelyconnected to an analytic engine 210. Other components of the PA ICTSystem 201 may include a real-time map module 206, a compliance managermodule 207, a management dashboard module 208, and a reconciliationreport module 209. Each module may generate queries that involveretrieving data from the data storage 204 or may automatically receivespecified data from the data storage 204.

The PA ICT System 200 also includes a network interface 211 enablingeach of a plurality of ABCT providers 202 to communicate with the PA ICTSystem 200 through a communication connection known in the art. Eachtime an ABCT provider 202 transmits a message to the PA ICT System 200,via the network interface 211, the messages may be stored in the datastorage means 204. In one embodiment, the messages are logged. Inanother embodiment, data from the messages is extracted and segregatedinto functional areas for analytic purposes. For example, dataidentifying the ABCT-Vehicle and the activity may be collected andstored as tables that the PA ICT System 200 maintains to describe eachABCT provider 202 activity within the geo-fenced area.

The real-time map module 206 may automatically receive data relating tothe location of an ABCT-Driver each time a message is received by the PAICT System 200. In one embodiment, each time a message is received froman ABCT provider 202 and stored in the data storage means 204, thelicense plate, longitude and latitude information contained in themessage is transmitted to the real-time map module 206. In a preferredembodiment, the real-time map module 206 has a map of the geo-fenceperimeter and is overlaid with icons representing the real-time locationof the ABCT-Drivers. The real-time map module 206 updates a map with thereceived information. In one embodiment, the icons are color coded basedon which ABCT provider 202 they are associated with. Additionally, auser may be able to click or select the icon, such that additionalinformation is displayed, such as driver ID, license plate number, or anassociated ABCT provider.

The compliance module 207 may generate a report comprising thetransaction history of all ABCT-Provide r202 activities within ageo-fenced perimeter. The report may be generated in real-time and mayalso comprise transaction history of ABCT provider 202 activity within aspecified time period. For example, the report may include transactionhistories of ABCT provider 202 activities within the last hour or withinthe last day. In one embodiment, the report may include the date andtime range each ABCT provider 202 vehicle has been within the geo-fencedperimeter, the ABCT ID, the license plate number of the ABCT-Vehicle,and the activity the ABCT-Vehicle is engaged in. For example, one entryin the report may indicate the following information for a vehicleassociated with the ABCT provider 202 that was in the geo-fencedperimeter: the vehicle was in the geo-fenced perimeter for 20 minutes,has dropped off a passenger, the vehicle's license plate number being,for example, SDXZ268, and the ABCT provider name.

In one embodiment, the compliance module 207, via the analytic engine210, may compare the information contained in each message with a set ofbusiness rules to determine ABCT provider violations. For example, thecompliance module may determine that an ABCT-Vehicle has been within ageo-fenced perimeter for more than an allotted time period as specifiedby a set of business rules. This information may be transmitted, in realtime, to a mobile communication device associated with a complianceofficer.

In another embodiment, the compliance module 207, via the analyticengine 210, may, for each incoming message from the plurality of ABCTproviders, transmit the ABCT-Vehicle identity associated with theincoming message and the ABCT provider unique code to a mobilecommunication device associated with a compliance officer.

The report generated by the compliance module 207 may be transmitted anddisplayed on a computing device, such as a smart phone, laptop orcomputer. The display may comprise dynamic list views and detail pages.The list view may comprise of various combinations of informationincluded in the messages received by the ABCT providers. For example,the list view may include the time the mobile communication deviceentered the geo-fence, the duration of time in the geo-fence, thelicense plate number associated with the mobile communication device,and the ABCT provider. The list may be updated or a particular field ina list may be updated. In one embodiment, a system user can select tosubscribe to updates of fields in data records, thereby ensuring thatthe user receives only the updates that the user selected to receive andwhen the user selects to view the updates.

In a preferred embodiment, the compliance module 207 will send thereport to an application on a mobile computing device associated withcompliance manager. The report may be in the form of a GUI, wherein thecompliance manager may interact with the information contained in thereport, as illustrated in FIGS. 3A-F. According to the preferredembodiment, the GUI displaying the report will include three real-timelists that will contain detailed information of all ABCT providertransactions taking place within the PA geo-fence. An “On-Site” listwill display all ABCT-Vehicles present within the geo-fence perimeter,as illustrated in FIG. 3A. A “Last Hour” list will display all ABCTprovider activity within the last hour within the geo-fence perimeter,as illustrated in FIG. 3B. And, a “Last 24 Hour” list will include allABCT provider activity that has taken place within the geo-fenceperimeter within the last 24 hours of the current time, as illustratedin FIG. 3C. The GUI may also display a summary of the informationrelating to a vehicle if a compliance manager selects or clicks on anitem in the list, as illustrated in FIG. 3D.

Each list within the GUI display may some of the following information:ABCT Name; License Plate; Ride Count; Time on PA property; CustomerTransaction Type; and Time of Last Message. This information may beextracted by the analytic engine 210 from each message received by thePA ICT System 200 from each ABCT provider 202 and transmitted to thecompliance module 207 to generate or update a report. In one embodiment,the report is a virtual list view in a web application that isdynamically updated such that a compliance manager can seamlessly accessand manage the presented information.

The GUI displaying the report may provide functionality to query eachreport for specific information contained in the report, as illustratedin FIG. 3E. For example, a compliance manager may query the report for alicense plate number or transactions associated with ABCT provider. Ifthe license plate number or transaction is in the report, the officerhas confirmation that the vehicle has been authorized by the ABCTprovider and that the trip has been reported to the PA. If the platenumber is not on the list, the officer has evidence of a potentialviolation of a set of business rules associated with the ABCT provider'soperating permit.

The GUI display also provides a view of a list of ABCT-Vehiclescurrently reported to be on PA property. The officer can use thisinformation to identify ABCT-Vehicles that are operating without propervisual identifiers (ABCT provider trade dress and placard), which may bea potential violation of a set of business rules associated with theABCT provider's operating permit.

The GUI display provides a view of a list of ABCT-Vehicles that are onPA property and that have exceeded the allowable dwell time. The officermay use this information to identify ABCT-Vehicles that are staging atthe PA property which may be a potential violation of a set of businessrules associated with the ABCT provider's operating permit.

The GUI display provides a view the transaction history of a specificABCT-Vehicle. The officer can use this information to identify potentialviolations. For example, recurring entry and exit transactions withoutassociated pick-up or drop-off transactions by an ABCT-Vehicle mayindicate recirculation on PA roadways which may be a potential violationof a set of business rules associated with the ABCT provider's operatingpermit.

Each potential violation of a set of business rules associated with theABCT provider's operating permit, may be highlighted in the report usinga warning color scheme, as illustrated in FIG. 3F. In one embodiment,each violation may be associated with a different color.

The PA ICT System 200 may also transmit to the mobile computing deviceassociated with compliance manager the map generated by the real-timemap module. The map may display the real-time locations of allABCT-Vehicles and/or ABCT provider transactions within geo-fenceperimeter. Such feature will allow the compliance managers to quicklylocate ABCT-Vehicles during operations.

The management dashboard module 208 may access data from the datastorage 204 to generate a report summarizing of all ABCT activity for agiven time period for each ABCT provider 202. For example, the reportmay indicate the number of entries, exits, pickups and drop-offsperformed by each of the ABCT providers during a specified time period.The generated report may be displayed on a computing device. Theinformation may be displayed in various formats, including but notlimited to graphs, tables, logs, and the like, as illustrated in FIG. 4.

The reconciliation report module 209 may generate a query for all theactivity data of the drivers associated with an ABCT provider 202 duringa specified time period and create a reconciliation report, asillustrated in FIG. 5. The reconciliation report comprises allactivities occurring in the geo-fenced perimeter for a specific timeperiod. The reconciliation report module 209 may compare the generatedreconciliation report for each ABCT provider with an independentreconciliation report prepared by each ABCT. The reconciliation reportmodule 209 may also generate a discrepancy report based on anyinconsistency between the generated reconciliation report and theindependent reconciliation report. In one embodiment, the reconciliationreport may be produced upon request. In another embodiment, thereconciliation report may be produced periodically, such as monthly oryearly.

In some embodiments, an invoice module 214 may generate a query foractivity data associated with services provided within the perimeter ofthe geo-fence for all drivers associated with an ABCT provider 202during a specified time period. For example, the invoice module 214 mayquery the data storage 204 for all passenger pick-up services anddrop-off services rendered within a PA geo-fence provided by ABCTprovider for the month of January. The invoice module 214 will thengenerate an invoice for the fees associated with services renderedwithin the perimeter of the geo-fence based on a set of business rulesas described in the PA's Permit. The PA ICT System 200 may then transmitthe invoice to the ABCT provider 202.

In another embodiment, a financial system (not shown) may be operablyconnected to the PA ICT System 200. The financial server may access thedata storage 204 to query the data stored for activities of an ABCTprovider within a geo-fenced area during a particular time period. Basedon a set of business rules stored on the financial server, the financialserver may create an invoice for the ABCT provider.

Additionally, the PA ICT System 200 includes requisite softwareinterfaces for different types of communication such as an emailinterface, short message service (SMS) interface, or a networkinterface. These are merely examples of the types of communicationprotocol interfaces (not shown) used by the PA ICT System 200 tocommunicate with various devices used by a compliance officer 212 and aground transportation unit 213. Moreover, these interfaces can includevarious sub-components (not shown) such as message servers, protocolstacks, associated databases, and the like.

The PA ICT System 200 may also include a license plate recognitionmodule 212. The license plate recognition module 212 is operativelyconnected to one or more cameras adapted to independently capture andrecognize a license plate image. A camera includes a processor formanaging image data and executing a license plate recognition programdevice. The license plate recognition program device includes a memoryis included for storing the license plate recognition program and thelicense plate images taken by an image capture device of the camera. Thelicense plate recognition module 212 may compare the license platenumbers captured by the camera with license plate ID's stored in thedata storage 204.

In a preferred embodiment, the license plate recognition involvescapturing photographic video or images of license plates, whereby theyare processed by a series of algorithms that are able to provide analpha numeric conversion of the captured license plate images into atext entry. There are seven primary algorithms that the softwarerequires for identifying a license plate: plate localization, which isresponsible for finding and isolating the plate on the picture; plateorientation and sizing, which compensates for the skew of the plate andadjusts the dimensions to the required size; normalization, whichadjusts the brightness and contrast of the image; character segmentationwhich finds the individual characters on the plates; optical characterrecognition; and syntactical/geometrical analysis, which checkcharacters and positions against country-specific rules.

The complexity of each of these algorithms determines the accuracy ofthe system. During the third phase (normalization), some systems useedge detection techniques to increase the picture difference between theletters and the plate backing. A median filter may also be used toreduce the visual noise on the image. In one embodiment, auxiliary datais also extracted from the at least one vehicle image, wherein theauxiliary data comprises information related to physical details of thevehicle.

As the license plate recognition system may also record time andlocation data in addition to license plate data, license plate imagedata, and image data of a vehicle. In one embodiment, the data may becollected over an extended period of time and stored for latersearching. In another embodiment, the data may be correlated, indexedand/or categorized in the data storage. The collected data may becompared to various existing or other data, such as the messagestransmitted to the PA server by the ABCT provider ICT System, andcorrelated and/or indexed to such data. That collected data may beprocessed, searched, and/or analyzed for a variety of purposes.

License plate recognition data may be correlated with ABCT provided datato verify ABCT provider message accuracy. The data may also be used togenerate volumetric forecasts and other operational and managementinformation. License plate recognition system may be able to obtainfurther information from an internal or external network about thevehicle based on the license plate number captured by the license platerecognition system. So, for example, the PA ICT System may be able todetermine the make, model, and year of every ABCT vehicle within itsgeo-fenced area. Alternatively, the PA ICT System may also identify theowner of the car associated with the license plate if it was an ABCTdriver and whether the registration fees are currently paid on the car,and a vast variety of other information.

License plate recognition system may also comprise various features,such as a timer to which keeps track of the length of time each vehiclepasses two points of interest. If there is a time limit for which theABCT-Vehicle cannot exceed, the system can send a red flag or warning toa compliance manager to indicate that the ABCT-Vehicle has overstatedthe time limit. The warning or red flag may be transmitted as a ping ormessage from the PA server to the mobile computing device applicationassociated with the compliance manager. There are a great many otheroperations that can be performed by the PA ICT System, such as keepingdaily logs of all vehicles that have entered or exited the perimeter ofthe geo-fenced area, which may be useful for law enforcement and otherapplications.

The PA ICT System, associated with the license plate recognition system,in one embodiment, may automatically generate violation citations forABCT-Vehicles that have been circling the roadways of the PA for toolong, or for cars that are no longer permitted by the ABCT provider toconduct transactions within the perimeter of a geo-fence, or issuealerts to police or security personnel if the system determines that aparticular car is stolen (in which case the central computer systemwould have access to a database of information to identify stolen cars)or is a car for which authorities are looking for some other reason (inwhich case the PA would have access to a database identifying cars forwhich authorities are looking).

At any time, a PA compliance manager may conduct an inspection ofABCT-Driver operations at a PA to confirm that such operations complywith the requirements set forth in a set of business rules associatedwith the ABCT Permit. To perform an inspection, compliance manager willrequire a real time web-based application that displays informationabout each ABCT provider trip being performed at the PA. The compliancemanager will be the primary users of the compliance manager application.They will be responsible for regulating all ABCT provider activitywithin the geo-fence. In one embodiment, the compliance managerapplication will receive real-time messages of the all ABCT providertransactions dynamically.

FIG. 6 illustrates a system logical architecture design for theprincipal message handling components of the PA ICT System 600. In apreferred embodiment, these components comprise four layers: a reverseproxy layer 601, load balancer 602, web application server cluster 603,and a database 604. The PA ICT System 600 also comprises a networkinterface to enable each of a plurality of ABCT providers to communicatewith the PA ICT System 600 through a communication medium, such as a webservice.

Due to the high volume of messages received from the ABCT providers,each component of the PA ICT System layers has a redundancy in order toprovide high availability. High availability provides the protectionfrom application failures that may arise from power failures, serverhardware faults, network hardware faults, configuration errors,application bugs, compatibility or performance issues and other causes.In a preferred embodiment, the PA ICT System 600 is designed to handle apeak load of over 3,000 messages per minute.

According to an embodiment of an invention, as part of the permittingprocess with a PA, an ABCT provider receives a digital certificate fromthe PA. The digital certificate is used to authenticate alltransmissions between the ABCT provider ICT System and the PA ICTSystem. The ABCT providers use an HTTPS to transmit secured messages viathe communication medium to a PA ICT System 600. The reserve proxyserver 601 associated with the PA ICT System 600 is used to take ininternet traffic in the HTTPS protocol received from the various ABCTproviders. In one embodiment, an SSL reverse proxy cluster shall be thefirst point of entry of the ABCT provider's messages.

The reverse proxy server 601 inspects the incoming HTTPS requests froman ABCT provider and authenticates the ABCT provider's ICT System withadditional authentication methods known in the art. Once authenticatedand any local processing is completed, the HTTP requests are forwardedto a load balancer 602. The reverse proxy server 601 transmits aresponse to the request back to the ABCT providers' ICT Systemscontaining the proper host names.

In one embodiment, the reverse proxy server 601 is configured with apublic DNS host name and publicly routable IP address. Thus, any linksthat are made available to users will resolve to the public IP addressor DNS hostname of the reverse proxy server 601. The reverse proxyserver 601 then performs mapping of the external HTTP request to theproper internal server.

Firewalls will enable certain network traffic from the public internetto the internal data service for the application. Only relevant andnecessary ports and protocols shall be allowed through the firewall.

Once the HTTP requests are received by the load balancer 602, they willbe forwarded to different web-service nodes. The load balancer will beused in order to provide load balancing 602 between web-service nodes.The load balancer 602 distributes the incoming HTTP requests to variousnodes in the web application server cluster 603 and to provide the SSLprotocol for encryption and decryption of the HTTP stream.

The load balancer 602 acts upon data found in the application layerprotocol such as the HTTP. The requests are received by the loadbalancer 602 and are distributed to a particular server based on aconfiguration algorithm, such as a round robin, a weighted round robin,a least connection, or at least response time.

Web service clusters 603 comprise a plurality of web application serversor nodes. The nodes are be deployed in a cluster that can be expanded byadding more nodes into the cluster for horizontal scalability. In oneembodiment, there is a three-node cluster comprising Tomcat webapplication containers that host the VTS web service API and thecompliance manager web service API.

The Database layer 604 shall be configured as an active/passive pair ofdatabase nodes. This configuration will provide just in time recoveryand redo logs. Active/passive database nodes process on one node, makingit the active node for that configuration. The IP address of the activenode is mapped to a virtual “node address”. If the active node fails, afailure safe module takes care of fail-over: it starts the process on apassive database, making it the active node, and remaps the node addressto the new active node's IP address. In most circumstances of a failure,the fail-over will occur quickly.

FIG. 7 shows a method for monitoring activities of an ABCT-Driver,according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Themethod begins at step 702, where an ABCT provider ICT System associatedwith an ABCT provider receives periodic location information from amobile device associated with an ABCT-Driver. In one embodiment, themobile device transmits a message to the ABCT provider, wherein themessage includes at least the geo-location of the mobile device(ABCT-Driver) and a date and timestamp.

At step 704, the ABCT provider ICT System determines if the mobiledevice is within a predefined geo-fence perimeter based on the locationinformation received from the mobile device.

At step 705, when a determination is made that the location of themobile device is within a predefined geo-fence perimeter, the ABCTprovider ICT System transmits a message to a PA ICT System. The messageincludes information related to location of the mobile device,identification of the driver and activity data. In one embodiment, theABCT ICT System generates a message comprising a header which includesgeographic locus, trip ID, ABCT ID, vehicle license plate ID, activitytime stamp, activity data, and number of users using the ABCT serviceassociated with the activity data along with the location information.

Though this embodiment of the method is performed by a PA ICT System,other servers or network elements may work in tandem with the PA ICTSystem to accomplish the method. Furthermore, each task of the methodmay be assigned to a different network element, each network elementbeing suited to perform the task assigned. For instance, a databaseserver may be more suited to referencing the geo-fence database, and alocation server may be more suited to making a location determinationbefore forwarding it to the PA ICT System. When connections traversegeo-fences, such as in a moving vehicle, an algorithm may be employed tosplit the charge of the connection between fee rates based on the amountof time within each geo-fence, amount of data transferred within eachgeo-fence and the like.

FIG. 8 shows a method for billing an ABCT provider for services renderedwithin a perimeter of a geo-fence, according to one embodiment of thepresent invention. The method begins at step 802, where a PA ICT Systemdefining a geo-fenced perimeter receives a message from an ABCT providerICT System. The message comprises at least location information, deviceidentification and activity data. The PA ICT System stores the messagesin a data storage.

At step 804, the PA ICT System determines if the activity data containedin the message relates to a service being rendered within the geo-fencedperimeter by an ABCT-Driver. If the activity data relates to a servicebeing rendered within the geo-fenced perimeter, the PA server creates alog of the activity and associates a fee to the activity. For example,if a driver of a driver associated with an ABCT picks-up a passengerwithin a geo-fenced area of a PA, the PA ICT System will create a log ofthe activity and associate a fee with the pick-up service rendered.

In one embodiment, the PA ICT System periodically query the data storagefor activity data relating to services rendered within the geo-fencedperimeter. For example, the PA ICT System may query the data storage forall ABCT provider activity within a geo-fenced perimeter comprising apick-up service, drop-off service, entry into the geo-fence and exitfrom the geo-fence. The PA may charge fees according to a set ofbusiness rules for at least one of these activities or all theactivities. Additionally, the PA ICT System may periodically query thedata storage for violations of the set of business rules. For example,the PA ICT System may generate a list of ABCT-Vehicles that have beenwithin the geo-fence for a period of time that exceeds an allottedperiod of time as set forth in the set of business rules. The PA mayalso charge a fee for any of the violations of the set of businessrules.

At step 806, the PA ICT System generates an invoice for the ABCTprovider comprising the fees for each activity in which a service wasrendered within the geo-fenced perimeter. In one embodiment, the PA ICTSystem compares the activities of an ABCT provider within a specifiedperiod with a set of business rules. Based on the correlation and thebusiness rules, a set of fees are determined for the ABCT provider.

FIG. 9A shows a system for generating an invoice for services providedby an ABCT provider within the perimeters of a geo-fence by a thirdparty such as a national or regional clearinghouse, according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention. The clearinghousetechnology infrastructure 900 includes a clearinghouse ICT system 901operatively communicating with a plurality of PAs 902-1 to 902-3 and aplurality of ABCT providers 903-1 to 903-3 via network interfaces 904.The clearinghouse ICT system 901 is an intermediary between a pluralityof PAs and at least one ABCT provider.

In a typical example, network 904 includes the internet and a local areanetwork used by the PAs 902-1 to 902-3 and the ABCT providers 903-1 to903-3 to connect to the internet. Both the PAs 902-1 to 902-3 and theABCT providers 903-1 to 903-3 can communicate with clearinghouse ICTsystem 901 over network 904 using any number and combination of variousprotocols as known in the art. In an exemplary embodiment, the both thePAs 902-1 to 902-3 and the ABCT providers 903-1 to 903-3 can communicatewith clearinghouse ICT system 901 via an online portal, as illustratedin FIGS. 9B and 9C, and discussed in further detail below.

The clearinghouse ICT system 901 facilitates business between aplurality of PA facilities and ABCT providers by providing a singlepoint of contact for all transactions. Currently, no single point ofcontact exists between a plurality of ABCT providers and PA facilities.Instead, each ABCT provider must individually facilitate business witheach of the PAs. The clearinghouse ICT system 901 provides a centralserver as a single point of contact between multiple ABCT providers andPA facilities. This allows multiple PA's and ABCT providers to conductbusiness via a central server. For example, the clearinghouse ICT system901 allows a PA to receive formatted transaction information in nearreal-time from multiple ABCT providers without the PA or the ABCTproviders having to install new software or allocate extra computerresources in order to communicate. Additionally, the ABCT providers canregister and/or unregister with different PA facilities to operatewithin their respective geo-fenced areas simply through theclearinghouse ICT system without having to contact and/or negotiate witheach PA facility individually. The clearinghouse ICT system 901 alsoprovides technology that can securely aggregate invoices for each of themultiple PA to create a single invoice for an ABCT provider, and thatcan securely accept and distribute payments from the PA to therespective ABCT providers.

The clearinghouse ICT system 901 includes data storage 905-1 to 905-3for storing data related to a plurality of PAs 902-1 to 902-3. As thedata is received from each of the PAs 902-1 to 902-3, the data may beprocessed by a geo-fence module 910, a permit management module 911,and/or a trip management module 912. In an exemplary embodiment, thedata from a PA is transmitted to the clearinghouse ICT system 901 viathe online portal illustrated in FIG. 9B-9C.

The online portal, illustrated in FIG. 9B-9C, may provide, among otherresources, a central operations feature, a management report feature, ora data storage feature. Generally, the central operations featureprovides among other resources, authentication capabilities. A PA mayregister, via the central operations feature, to become part of theclearinghouse ICT system 901. An ABCT provider may register, via thecentral operation feature, to become part of the clearinghouse ICTsystem 901 and to obtain permits from a plurality of PAs that wouldallow the ABCT drivers to operate within geo-fenced areas associatedwith the plurality of PAs.

Once a PA registers with the clearinghouse ICT system 901, informationsuch as geo-coordinates associated with the PA facility and businessrules can be uploaded and stored in the appropriate data storage 905-1to 905-3. The PA may also upload a permit for each ABCT provider thatregisters via the online portal. For example, after an ABCT providerregisters with the clearinghouse ICT system, a message or notificationcan be sent to the PA, via the online portal. Once the PA receives theregistration message or notification, the PA can upload permits for theABCT provider. Additionally, the PA may change geo-coordinatesassociated with the PA facility, business rules, and/or permit statusesfor ABCT providers, and the changes can be transmitted to the affectedABCT provider, in real time or near real time. The changes can also betransmitted to mobile devices of compliance officers implementing thesecurity measures within the PA facility. For example, if the PAfacility decides to revoke a permit for an ABCT provider, notificationof the revocation can be transmitted to the respective ABCT provider aswell as the mobile devices of the compliance officers in real time. Thecompliance officers would then be able to monitor the PA facility toensure that drivers associated with the ABCT provider are not conductingbusiness within the PA facility. Similarly, the ABCT providers can alsochange information that is provided to the clearinghouse ICT system inreal-time and the clearinghouse ICT system can transmit notification ofthe changes instantaneously to PA facilities that are affected by thechanges.

The management report feature of the online portal may allow PAfacilities or ABCT providers to access resources to generate managementreports that relate to the respective collective data for a specific PAfacility or ABCT provider. In this regard, a PA facility can access datarelated to a plurality of ABCT providers and/or a single ABCT provider.Similarly, an ABCT provider can access data related to a plurality of PAfacilities and/or a single PA facility. The management reports for anABCT provider may include information related to the activities withinthe PA facilities, billing information for the respective ABCT driverswithin the PA facilities, and information related to permits andbusiness rules associated with to the PA facilities. The managementreports for the PA facilities may include information related to theABCT driver transaction data within the geo-fenced area and billinginformation for the ABCT providers.

The data storage feature of the online portal may allow for PAfacilities and/or ABCT providers to upload data in a native format. Inone embodiment, the data storage feature may format the data prior totransmitting the data to the clearinghouse ICT system. In anotherembodiment, the clearinghouse ICT system normalizes data as it isreceived to ensure data integrity. Data normalization is also a key partof data management that can help improve data cleansing, violationrouting, segmentation, deduplication and other data quality processes.Normalization makes sure that all of your data looks and reads the sameway across all records. Normalization may standardize fields to includeABCT provider, ABCT driver information, and transaction data in aparticular order. Normalization of the data is important because everycompany has different criteria when it comes to normalizing their data.What one company considers “normal” might not be “normal” for another.The data storage feature of the online portal allows remote users, suchas the PA facilities and the ABCT providers, to share information inreal time in a standardized format regardless of the format in which theinformation was received by the PAs or the ABCT providers.

Once a user registers with the clearinghouse ICT system, data isreceived, via the online portal, from each of the PA's may be stored ina data storage specific to the respective PA. The data may include ageo-fence coordinate, business rules associated with the PA, and a listABCT providers allowed to operate within the geo-fenced area.

In particular, the business rules allow the clearinghouse ICT system 901to manage (i.e. capture, apply and change) bilateral commercial termsagreed between the ABCT providers 903-1 to 903-3 and the PAs 902-1 to902-3 and apply these terms to the calculations of PA facility fees tothe ABCT providers. For example, business rules can be applied totransaction information that is received from ABCT providers inreal-time or near real-time and dynamically, as the transactioninformation is received.

Business rules are received from the PAs 902-1 to 902-3 and stored intheir respective PA data storage 905-1 to 905-3. Each rule may include alogical statement, which sets an output based on a specific input. Forexample, if a PA agrees with an ABCT provider that it will not chargethe ABCT provider for pick-ups between midnight and 5 AM, one of thebusiness rules stored in the PA's data storage 902-1 may include thefollowing logical statement: ABCT=ALL AND Trip_Type==Pick_Up ANDTrip_Time>=00:00 AND Trip_Time<=05:00: Trip_Fee=0.

Subsequently, as transactions information is received from the ABCTprovider in real-time, the business rules can be applied to thetransaction information to determine a payment value that is associatedwith the transaction information. The payment value may then be storedin the payments table within the data storage for the PA 905-1.

A rule which makes a direct deduction of fees due to the clearinghouseICT system 901 for its services based on a bilaterally agree feestructure may also be included in the business rules. For example, at adesignated time, usually end of month, the clearinghouse ICT system 901may transfer all the payments values stored in the payment module withindata storage for the PA into the invoice module. The invoice module maythen compile a PA-specific invoice for each ABCT provider, which in turnare sent to the financial module 913 for aggregation with other invoicesfor the specific PA.

Going back to FIG. 9A, each of the PAs 902-1 to 902-3 register andprovide geo-fence information, business rules and other related data viaan online portal accessible to PA administrators. The clearinghouse ICTsystem 901 stores data received from the PAs 902-1 to 902-3 in datastorage 905-1 to 905-3. For example, when a PA registers and providesgeo-fence information, the geo-fence module 910 validates and storesmultiple geo-fence locations, referenced to specific PAs. Theclearinghouse ICT system 901 maintains a record of changes and providesthe ability to verify whether a specific geographic coordinate is insideor outside of a specific geo-fence.

ABCT providers 903-1 to 903-3 also register with the clearinghouse ICTsystem 901 via the online portal and provide information to the ICTclearinghouse system for each of the PAs that the ABCT-drivers will beoperating within. The ABCT providers 903-1 to 903-3 may also providebusiness rules such as commercial terms for each PA, wherein theclearinghouse ICT system may capture, apply and change bilateralcommercial terms agreed between the ABCT providers 903-1 to 903-3 andthe PAs 902-1 to 902-3 and apply these terms to the calculations of PAfacility fees to the ABCT providers. For example, the permit managementmodule 911 links ABCT providers and PAs, and serves as a repository ofall active, suspended, terminated, pending and expired Permits. Thepermit management module 911 is the source of business rules such as aprevailing trip fee for a drop-off within a specific PA's geo-fence andit provides the capability to calculate fees and charges, to record andalert Permit expiration and renewal dates, and to process and store arecord of Permit violations.

In an exemplary embodiment, once the PAs 902-1 to 902-3 and ABCTproviders 903-1 to 903-3 are registered, the ABCT providers can transmitmessages to the clearinghouse ICT system 901. Each message includes atleast one of a current location of a mobile device of an ABCT vehicleassociated with an ABCT provider within a predefined geographicalboundary associated with a PA and transaction information associatedwith a service rendered within the predefined geographical boundary. Themessage including at least one of the current location of the mobiledevice and/or the transaction information may be transmitted inreal-time to the clearinghouse ICT system 901, wherein the clearinghouseICT system 901 may also dynamically transmit all or part of thetransaction information and/or current location of the mobile device torespective PA, as the clearinghouse ICT system 901 receives the message.For example, as ABCT drivers, within a geo-fenced area, drop-off orpick-up passengers, the transaction information and/or informationassociated with the ABCT drivers (such as current location) is forwardedto the ABCT provider by a mobile device associated with the ABCT driverin real-time. The ABCT provider then generates a message that includesthe current location of the mobile device associated with the ABCTdriver and/or transaction information, and forwards or distributes themessage to the clearinghouse ICT system 901. The trip management 912module of the clearinghouse ICT system 901 associates the transactioninformation with the specific PA by parsing the received message,identifying the predefined geographical boundary that the mobile deviceis currently within, and identify the PA associated with the predefinedgeographical boundary. Furthermore, the trip management module 912stores the received transaction data in the respective PA's data storage905-1 to 905-3 and transmits the transaction information and/or currentlocation of the mobile device associated with the ABCT driver to theidentified PA. Alternatively, the message generated by the ABCT providermay further include information specifying the particular PA the messageis to be forwarded to. In this case, the trip management module 912would parse the message to identify the specified PA included in themessage and forward the message to the specified PA. In someembodiments, the received transaction data is normalized, formatted andthen stored in the PA's data storage 905-1 to 905-3. Additionally oralternatively, the received transaction data is stored in its originalraw format for (1) system recovery purposes in the event of a failure orloss of data downstream and (b) for audit and validation purposes.

The trip management module 912 may also validate the format of drivertransaction (i.e. trip) information, and verify and/or associate eachtrip with (1) a valid Permit, (2) an active ABCT provider and (3) aparticipating PA. The trip management module 912 records all valid tripsand provides data feeds to business processes such as billing,compliance and auditing. In some embodiments, the trip management module912 may use a verification process that checks for valid fields withinthe received transaction information. For example, the transactioninformation received from a PA may include an “ABCT_id”. The “ABCT id”may be validated against the list of ABCT providers that have validpermits at that particular PA. The trip management system 912 may alsovalidate the coordinates provided (“longitude” and “latitude”), as wellas the transaction type (“txn_type”).

At any time, a PA may access to the clearinghouse ICT system 901 via anonline portal and invalidate an ABCT provider's permit by changing anActive_Permit field in the permit management module 911 from enable todisable. The active permit may also be automatically disabled when theABCT provider's permit is cancelled. If a transaction, for which itscorresponding permit is disabled, arrives in the clearinghouse ICTsystem 901, the clearinghouse ICT system 901 may void that trip andautomatically send an exception message to the PA. In some embodiments,when an ABCT provider's permit is enabled or disabled, the clearinghouseICT system 901 may automatically generate a notification that is sent tothe ABCT provider.

As transaction information is received by the clearinghouse ICT system901 from an ABCT provider, the clearinghouse ICT system 901automatically routes the transaction information to the to therespective PA. The clearinghouse ICT system 901 may forward thetransaction information or part of the transaction information to therespective PA in parallel with storing the transaction data, so the PAreceives the transaction data in real-time or near real-time. Nearreal-time refers to the time delay introduced, by automated dataprocessing or network transmission, between the f an event and the useof the processed data, such as for display or feedback and controlpurposes.

In some embodiments, the clearinghouse ICT system 901 may receivetransaction information for an ABCT vehicle within a PA's geofence andparse the transaction information to identify ABCT vehicle informationand the location information. The clearinghouse ICT system 901 can sendthe PA (near) real-time messages about the location of each ABCT vehiclein periodic intervals, such as every 5 seconds, for the duration of itsstay within the PA's geo-fence. In another embodiment, the PA mayreceive one message for (a) geo-fence entry, (b) geo-fence exit, (c)drop-off (inside geo-fence) and (d) pick-up (inside geo-fence).

Once the respective PA receives the transaction data, the PA may thenuse the near real-time transaction data for time compliance managementand safety management, amongst other things. For example, some PApermits limit the length of time an ABCT vehicle may spend within thePA's geo-fence. This is often to ensure that ABCT vehicles are not usingthe PA's ABCT vehicle holding lot(s) as a convenience or as a free restarea. As the ABCT driver's vehicle enters the PA's geo-fence, the ABCTapplication on the ABCT driver's mobile device transmits a message tothe ABCT Provider that routes it to the clearinghouse ICT system 901.This message contains a timestamp, which records the time that the ABCTvehicle arrives on the PA's property. If the PA specifically designatesits ABCT vehicle holding-lot with its own geo-fence, then the PA willreceive a second message, again with a timestamp, when the ABCT vehicleleaves the ABCT vehicle holding lot. This second message allows thecalculation of dwell time in the holding lot and, if applicable, thecalculation of an ‘over stay’ fine.

Likewise, once an ABCT vehicle enters a PA's geo-fence, the ABCTvehicle's license plate information is transmitted as an ABCT vehiclemessage to the ABCT provider and to the clearinghouse ICT system 901.The clearinghouse ICT system 901 then forwards the information to therespect PA. The PA's ICT system reads this message and resends it to acompliance manager's mobile application. The compliance manager, locatedat the curbside on the PA's property can check, based on the licenseplate information, whether a particular ABCT vehicle is complying withthe requirements of the PA's permit. For example, the Compliance Managercan validate that the ABCT vehicle is displaying the correct decals. TheCompliance Manager's mobile application allow ABCT vehicle transactionsto be sorted by time, ABCT Provider, and license plate number.

The clearinghouse ICT system 901 also includes an analytic engine 906operatively connected to the data storage 905-1 to 905-3. The analyticengine 906 may access the data storage 905-1 to 905-3 and provide datato the financial module 913. The financial module 913 may calculatefees, generate invoices and process payments for each of the ABCTproviders servicing each of the PAs, as described below. The invoicesand/or payments information may be stored in the data storage 905-1 to905-3.

In one embodiment, the clearinghouse ICT system 901 may receive paymentinformation from an ABCT provider 903-1 to 903-3. The paymentinformation relates to a payment from an ABCT provider for an invoice oftransactions occurring within the geo-fenced area associated with a PA.For instance, the ABCT Provider may receive one invoice from theclearinghouse ICT system 901, which itemizes aggregates of theirtransactions at respective PAs for a specific period. Correspondingly,each PA receives one payment which itemizes the aggregate of eachABCT-driver's trips to that PA during the billing period (less anyapplicable clearinghouse ICT system 901 processing fees).

In an embodiment, the clearinghouse ICT system 901 may verify at least aportion of the payment information and store at least a portion of thepayment information in a database. The clearinghouse ICT system 901 thenmay transmit a first electronic file comprising at least a portion ofthe payment information to a PA associated with the invoice. In oneembodiment, the clearinghouse ICT system 901 may transmit a secondelectronic file comprises at least a confirmation of the payment to thePA from the ABCT provider 903-1 to 903-3. Furthermore, the clearinghouseICT system 901 may also generate and transmit, to both the PA and theABCT provider, and accounting of all invoices and payments by the PA andthe ABCT provider in response to a request for the accounting.

For instance, the clearinghouse ICT system 901 may calculate the paymentinformation based on the transaction information for each PA and thenforward the payment information to ABCT provider 903-1 to 903-3 and/orthe PAs 902-1 to 902-3.

The clearinghouse ICT system 901 may provide the payment information tothe ABCT provider 903-1 to 903-3 and/or the PAs 902-1 to 902-3 on arolling basis as transaction information is received. The clearinghouseICT system 901 may also periodically aggregate received transactioninformation for the purposes of calculating aggregated ABCT providerservice charges at each of the clearinghouse ICT system 901participating PAs. and provide the payment information to the ABCTprovider 903-1 to 903-3 and/or the PAs 902-1 to 902-3. The periodicaggregation of the transaction information may also be used for thepurpose of supporting participating PAs audit requirements. Forinstance, the PA may, via the online portal, request data associatedwith the transaction information to perform audits on the number ofABCT-drivers that conduct transactions within the PA's geo-fencedlocation.

During an audit, the auditor for the PA may request a random sample ofABCT transactions, or random batch of transactions, occurring in aspecific time period from the clearinghouse ICT system 901. For example,an auditor for a PA may have the right (in the permit) to get from anABCT provider all of the ABCT provider's information pertaining to thoseselected transactions. The auditor can then compare both sets ofinformation for any discrepancies. The auditor may validate that theABCT provider can prove that it paid the PA for the selectedtransactions. Also, the auditor may request from an ABCT provider alltransactions recorded on the ABCT provider's systems for a specific timeperiod. The auditor may compare these transactions against theinformation in the PA's ICT systems (received from the ABCT provider)for discrepancies.

In addition to sending the payment information or invoices to the ABCTproviders 903-1 to 903-3 for service charges of drivers within thegeo-fenced area of a PA, in one embodiment, the clearinghouse ICT system901 may collect payments from the ABCT provider 903-1 to 903-3 andtransmit the payment to the PAs 902-1 to 902-3. Furthermore, theclearinghouse ICT system 901 may also offer proper accounting for theservice charges. The clearinghouse ICT system 901 also may forward tothe ABCT providers 903-1 to 903-3 and/or PAs 902-1 to 902-3 fees chargesassociated with the use of the clearinghouse ICT system 901.

FIG. 10 shows a method for invoicing an ABCT provider for servicesrendered within a perimeter of a geo-fence through a third party such asa national or regional clearinghouse, according to one embodiment of thepresent invention. The method begins at step 1002, where a clearinghouseICT system receives a plurality of geo-fence perimeter coordinates froma plurality of PAs. The PAs, in one embodiment, may provide additionalinformation such as ABCT provider business rules.

At step 1004, the clearinghouse ICT system transmits the geo-fenceperimeters to a set of ABCT providers servicing each PA. For example,drivers of an ABCT provider may be providing pick-up and drop-offservices to customers at the San Francisco International Airport and theOakland International Airport. The clearinghouse ICT system will send tothe ABCT provider the geo-fence perimeter information for both the SanFrancisco International Airport and the Oakland International Airport.

At step 1006, the clearinghouse ICT system receives a message each timethe ABCT-Driver performs an activity defined in any of the Permits towhich the ABCT provider is a party. Each message is stored within a datastorage and is associated with its respective PA.

In one embodiment, the clearinghouse ICT system transmits the receivedmessages, in real-time, to the PA ICT System for monitoring by the PA ofABCT provider activities within a PA's geo-fenced area. In anotherembodiment, the clearinghouse server queries the received messages andcompares them to a set of business rules. If there is a violation of thebusiness rules, a notification is sent to the PA ICT System.

At step 1008, the clearinghouse server queries the messages foractivities associated with services rendered within the geo-fencedperimeter. For example, the clearinghouse may query pick-up services ordrop-off services that have taken place within the geo-fenced perimeter.The query may be done periodically, such as daily, weekly or monthly orupon request.

At step 1010, the clearinghouse ICT system generates an invoice for eachABCT provider of fees associated with each Permit and/or servicesrendered within a PA's geo-fenced perimeter, and transmits the invoicesto the corresponding ABCT providers.

At step 1012, the clearinghouse server receives payments from the ABCTproviders associated with the invoices.

At step 1014, the clearinghouse server sends payments received from theABCT providers to their respective PAs.

While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention,other and further embodiments of the present invention may be devisedwithout departing from the basic scope thereof. For example, aspects ofthe present invention may be implemented in hardware or software or in acombination of hardware and software. One embodiment of the presentinvention may be implemented as a program product for use with acomputer system. The program(s) of the program product define functionsof the embodiments (including the methods described herein) and can becontained on a variety of computer-readable storage media. An example ofa suitable computing system environment in which the invention may beimplemented, although as made clear above, the computing systemenvironment is only one example of a suitable computing environment andis not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use orfunctionality of the invention. Neither should the computing environmentbe interpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating toanyone nor combination of components illustrated in the exemplaryoperating environment.

Computing device typically includes a variety of computer readablemedia. Computer readable media can be any available media that can beaccessed by computer and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media,removable and non-removable media. By way of example, and notlimitation, computer readable media may comprise tangible computerstorage media and communication media. Computer storage media includesvolatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implementedin any method or technology for storage of information such as computerreadable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data.Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM,EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CDROM, digitalversatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices,or any other medium which can be used to store the desired informationand which can accessed by computer. Communication media typicallyembodies computer readable instructions, data structures, programmodules or other data. While communication media includes non-ephemeralbuffers and other temporary digital storage used for communications, itdoes not include transient signals in as far as they are ephemeral overa physical medium (wired or wireless) during transmission betweendevices. Combinations of any of the above should also be included withinthe scope of computer readable media. The system memory includescomputer storage media in the form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memorysuch as read only memory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM). Theprocessing unit and bus allow for transfer of information betweenelements within computer, such as during start-up, typically stored inROM. RAM typically contains data and/or program modules that areimmediately accessible to and/or presently being operated on byprocessing unit.

The computer may also include other removable/non-removable,volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media include, but are not limitedto, magnetic tape cassettes, flash memory cards, digital versatiledisks, Blu-Ray disks, digital video tape, solid state RAM, solid stateROM, and the like. The hard disk drive is typically connected to thesystem bus through a non-removable memory interface such as interface,or removably connected to the system bus by a removable memoryinterface, such as interface.

The drives and their associated computer storage media discussed aboveprovide storage of computer readable instructions, data structures,program modules and other data for the computer. For example, disk driveis illustrated as storing operating system, application programs, otherprogram modules, and program data. Note that these components can eitherbe the same as or different from operating system, application programs,other program modules, and program data. Operating system, applicationprograms, other program modules, and program data are given differentnumbers here to illustrate that, at a minimum, they are differentcopies. A user may enter commands and information into the computerthrough input devices such as a keyboard and pointing device, commonlyreferred to as a mouse, trackball or touch pad. Other input devices mayinclude a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, depth ormotion sensor, scanner, or the like. These and other input devices areoften connected to the processing unit through the system bus, but maybe connected by other interface and bus structures, such as a parallelport, game port, or a universal serial bus (USB). A monitor or othertype of display device is also connected to the system bus via aninterface, such as a video interface. In addition to the monitor,computers may also include other peripheral output devices such asspeakers and printer, which may be connected through an outputperipheral interface.

One of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate that a computer or otherclient device can be deployed as part of a computer network. In thisregard, the present invention pertains to any computer system having anynumber of memory or storage units, and any number of applications andprocesses occurring across any number of storage units or volumes. Thepresent invention may apply to an environment with server computers andclient computers deployed in a network environment, having remote orlocal storage. The present invention may also apply to a standalonecomputing device, having programming language functionality,interpretation and execution capabilities.

In view of the foregoing, the scope of the present invention isdetermined by the claims that follow.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A system for monitoring activities of anapplication-based commercial ground transportation (ABCT) vehicle withina predefined geographical boundary corresponding to a fee-based zoneassociated with a permitting authority (PA), the system comprising: oneor more processors; and a non-transitory computer readable mediumstoring a plurality of instructions, which when executed, cause the oneor more processors to: receive, at a clearinghouse system, a pluralityof messages from an information system associated with an ABCT-provider,each message of the plurality of messages including at least one of (1)location information associated with a current location of a mobiledevice of one of a plurality of ABCT-vehicles associated with theABCT-provider within the predefined geographical boundary associatedwith the PA and (2) transaction information associated with a servicerendered within the predefined geographical boundary, each of themessages being received by the clearinghouse system in near real-time asthe information system associated with the ABCT-provider receives the atleast one location information and transaction information from mobiledevices of ABCT-vehicles associated with the ABCT-provider; store, atthe clearinghouse system, the plurality of messages in a storageassociated with the clearinghouse system; query, at the clearinghousesystem, the plurality of messages for activities associated withservices rendered within the predefined geographical boundary; generate,at the clearinghouse system, an invoice for the ABCT-provider of feesassociated with each activity associated with the services renderedwithin the predefined geographical boundary based on a set of businessrules associated with the PA; and transmit, from the clearinghousesystem, the invoice to the ABCT-provider.
 2. The system of claim 1,further comprising: transmit, from the clearinghouse system, each of theplurality of messages to a PA information system in near real-time asthe clearinghouse system receives each of the plurality of messages fromthe ABCT-provider information system.
 3. The system of claim 1, whereinthe clearinghouse system being an intermediary between a plurality ofABCT-providers and a plurality of PAs.
 4. The system of claim 3, furthercomprising: receive, at the clearinghouse system, a plurality ofpredefined geographical boundaries and a plurality of business rulesets, each of the plurality of predefined geographical boundaries andeach of the plurality of business rule sets being associated with adifferent PA; receive, at the clearinghouse system, a second pluralityof messages from the information system associated with theABCT-provider, each message of the second plurality of messagesincluding at least one of (1) location information associated with thecurrent location of a mobile device of one of a plurality ofABCT-vehicles associated with the ABCT-provider within a secondpredefined geographical boundary associated with the second PA and (2)transaction information associated with a service rendered within thesecond predefined geographical boundary, each of the messages beingreceived by the clearinghouse system in near real-time as theinformation system associated with the ABCT-provider receives the atleast one location information and transaction information from mobiledevices of ABCT-vehicles associated with the ABCT-provider; store, atthe clearinghouse system, the second plurality of messages; query, atthe clearinghouse system, the second plurality of messages foractivities associated with services rendered within the secondpredefined geographical boundary; generate, at the clearinghouse system,an invoice for the ABCT-provider of fees associated with each activityassociated with a service rendered within the second predefinedgeographical boundary based on a set of business rules associated withthe second PA; and transmit, from the clearinghouse system, the invoiceto the ABCT-provider.
 5. A method for monitoring activities of anapplication-based commercial ground transportation (ABCT) vehicle withina predefined geographical boundary corresponding to a fee-based zoneassociated with a permitting authority (PA), the method comprising:receiving a plurality of messages from an information system associatedwith an ABCT-provider, each message of the plurality of messagesincluding at least one of (1) location information associated with acurrent location of a mobile device of one of a plurality ofABCT-vehicles associated with the ABCT-provider within the predefinedgeographical boundary associated with the PA and (2) transactioninformation associated with a service rendered within the predefinedgeographical boundary, each of the messages being received by theclearinghouse system in near real-time as the information systemassociated with the ABCT-provider receives the at least one locationinformation and transaction information from mobile devices ofABCT-vehicles associated with the ABCT-provider; storing the pluralityof messages in a storage; querying the plurality of messages foractivities associated with services rendered within the predefinedgeographical boundary; generating an invoice for the ABCT-provider offees associated with each activity associated with a service renderedwithin the predefined geographical boundary based on a set of businessrules associated with the PA; and transmitting the invoice to theABCT-provider.
 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:transmitting each of the plurality of messages to a PA informationsystem in near real-time as each of the plurality of messages arereceived from the ABCT-provider information system.
 7. The method ofclaim 5 providing an intermediary between a plurality of ABCT-providersand a plurality of PAs.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:receiving a plurality of predefined geographical boundaries and aplurality of business rule sets, each of the plurality of predefinedgeographical boundaries and each of the plurality of business rule setsbeing associated with a different PA; receiving a second plurality ofmessages from the information system associated with the ABCT-provider,each message of the second plurality of messages including at least oneof (1) location information associated with the current location of amobile device of one of a plurality of ABCT-vehicles associated with theABCT-provider within a second predefined geographical boundaryassociated with the second PA and (2) transaction information associatedwith a service rendered within the second predefined geographicalboundary, each of the messages being received by the clearinghousesystem in near real-time as the information system associated with theABCT-provider receives the at least one location information andtransaction information from mobile devices of ABCT-vehicles associatedwith the ABCT-provider; querying the second plurality of messages foractivities associated with services rendered within the secondpredefined geographical boundary; generating an invoice for theABCT-provider of fees associated with each activity associated with aservice rendered within the second predefined geographical boundarybased on a set of business rules associated with the second PA; andtransmitting the invoice to the ABCT-provider.